Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Jaylen Warren

Thursday, November 20, 12:34 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle, foot) is not expected to play this season as he deals with a foot injury from the offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Mixon will likely stay on the Physically Unable to Perform list through the end of the 2025 season, while the Texans move forward with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks in their backfield. Things had been trending this way for a while, as the Texans haven't been giving any real updates on Mixon for pretty much the entire season. Fantasy managers who are still stashing the 29-year-old in redraft leagues should send him to the waiver wire now. Mixon's injury dates all the way back to spring workouts. One would think he'd be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign, but there has been little information about the exact nature of his injury. Marks, a fourth-rounder in April, has slowly started to see more work and should be the backfield leader over Chubb by the end of the year.

Tuesday, November 25, 9:57 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren turned 18 carries into 68 yards and a touchdown in a Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears. For the first time this season, he was not targeted in the passing game. Backfield mate Kenneth Gainwell, on the other hand, hauled in all six of his targets and added 92 rushing yards. This marked the second straight week in which Gainwell outproduced Warren for fantasy purposes, though it's important to remember that Warren suffered an ankle injury in Week 11. It will be interesting to see how the two backs are deployed on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, who have struggled to stop the run all season. Being another week removed from the injury should only benefit Warren, so fantasy managers have no reason to panic just yet.